Bolt and nut lock



p 3, 1930- N. R. LILLIG 1,776,473

BOLT AND NUT LOCK Filed Dec. 27, 1929 INVENTOR 15 to provide a substantially continuous perim- P a tented Sept. 23, 1930 y 1 UNITED S AT -s PATENT OFFICE i niorronAs RICHARD LILLIG, or PORTLAND, 'oaEeo'n assrenon 'ro TICE LOCK- Was'nnn MANUFACTURING 00., or ronrnann, onneoma CORPORATION or onneon BOLT AND NUT Loox.

Application 'filed December 2'1, 1929. Serial Ito. 416,914.

My present invention which relates to the. art of look washers particularly has for its object to provide a washer'with'an annulus unbroken in the general circular direction in whichit extends andqprovided with spring j aws at its periphery; and with means interposed between the proximate ends ofadj acent jaws which will serveseveral functions, viz: to prevent tangling of the washers when they are packed together for shipment or when two or more washers are used as shims, to provide'means to cooperate with the biting jaw and the material plowed up, thereby to hold the washer againstreverse movement beyond a slight amount necessary to dig 1n, and

eter for thewasher (which admits of advantageous manufacturing). 7

Furthen'it is an objectto provide a lock washer of a simple construction so designed that it may. be manufactured with ease and at low. cost and will effectively serve its intended purpose. V

Further,.it'is an object to provide a lock washer of such construction that its jaw will not have to dig in deeply in order to hold the washer from turning backwardly when it is attempted to remove a nut. j I

Other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out. hereinafter.

To the attainment ofthe aforesaid objects and ends, the invention'still, further resides in the novel details of construction, combination and arrangement ofparts, all of which will'be first fully; described lllrtlle following detailed description, then be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which 1 .Figure 1' is a vertical crosssection of a rail structure with my invention applied.

Figure 2-is a slightly enlarged detail elevation of a washer and nut with the part against which the washer bears shown in cross section to illustrate how thebiting j aw ploughs in. Figure 3 is an enlarged. face View of the washer. Y

I ging in points of thejaws.

showing how they stack without interlocking.

In the drawing in which like numerals and I letters of reference indicate like parts'in all of the figures, 1 represents the rail, 2 the fish plates, 3 the bolt and 4 the nut while 5 indicates the washer which constitutes the subject matter of my present invention. 7 i

The washer 5 consists of a disk provided with a bolt hole 6. The disk is provided with two slits 9 preferably arranged somewhat eccentricallyto the bolt hole 6. and leaving between the slits and the bolt hole an annulus 7 which is unbroken in the general circular direction in which it extends. The slits 9 join with outwardly converging slits 15 leaving between the slits15 a tongue 14 that lies in the general plane of the annulus 7-at all times.

The slits 9 are preferably eccentric so as to provide a somewhat wider space (a) from slit end to the bolt hole, thereby providing jaws 12 which are integral with theannulus and are of greater width at the base (a) than at the free ends (cl), the distance (11) being less than the distance (0) thusgiving greater strength to the jaws thanwould be the case were they of the same width at the base as at the free end. a V i 8 designates the inner or minor diameter 012 thenut 4 and 10 designates the outer or major diameter of the nut 4, the nut being shown i1; dotted lines and thediameter and circumference of the inner and outer diameters of the nut being indicated by broken lines 8 and 9 inFigure3w- The jaws 12 are off-set to opposite sides of the plane of the annulus'f, the inclination of the jaws to the annulus being gradual from thebase or inner ends to a point approximately that indicated by 11 from which they are given a more abrupt bend in order to bring the free ends 13 ofthe jaws to one side of the plane of the annulus 7 and of the tongue 14. It is to be noted, too, that this produces bevelled end faces 13 as it were leaving the points 16 farthestfrom the plane of the an nulus. These points are the plowing or dig It will also be noted that the spaces indi cated at 17 in Figures 3 and 5 between the ends of'the jaws 12 and the adjacent faces ofthe annulus 7 are less than the thickness of the annulus or of the jaws. The purpose of this is to prevent the aws of one washer from in terlocking or'tangling with thejaws of another washer laid against it as indicated in Figure 6, since one .jaw of each washer will engage the tongue of the other washer (on opposite sid'esyand enable the washers to nest perfectly without interlocking.

Furthermore by converging the slits 15 from the slits 9 outwardly the digging inor;

plowing points 16 are located atthe extreme periphery of the washer and when the nut is SCIGWQCl'hOHlS and the 12 digs "in(see Figure 2) the shavings or-material 2 plowed up will work in between the'face-13 and the adjacent face of the tongue 14 as a wedge and stop further movement of the washer backi wards.

It shouldjof course; be understood that the material of which the washer-s5 are made is such that it may be tempered and the'jaws 12beconie stiff spring jaws-so that they will not snap off when bent back into the plane of the washer as a whole.

It is also to be observed that the slits 9 from about the bend 11 to the free ends of the jaws lie to the outside of the minor diame ter of the nutwith which the washer is to be tween the ends of the jaws is reduced'insuch employed and they lie also well'within the or diameter of the nut, seeFigure 3'; The

purpose of this isto enablefthe aw i12flwhich is adjacent the nutto spring upagainst the side face or flat of the nut, see Figures 1 and 2, and thereby holdthe nut against being turned ofi while a corner or angle of the nut will overlie a portion of the tongue 14 and project over a portion of the free end of the bitingunder jaw 12.

: By providing the tongue 14 the space hemanner as greatlyto facilitate the stacking of the washers for shipment; and also, when infuse, tocooperate with the biting jaw to effect grip on the fish plate 2 or other part into which the biting jaw digs so as to stop the backward [rotation of the nut in "the smallest distance possible.

With washers of thetype disclosedinthe applications aforesaid there is a considerable space between the .ends 'ofthe jaws and therefore it sometimes happens that in slack .ingioff under which such washer'is placedthe bottom jaw digs 'into the piece I I which has been fastened. In moving backwards theijaw pushes in front of it aneverincreasing.accumulationof metal until it has:-

' dug in sufficientlyto stop; its backward motion.',Th'is'digging in of'the'washersis some-- timesso great that unless the jaw isvpried up 7 by hand or chiseled oii'r itmustbe brokenin' order to loosen the nut'. This applies to the old style look washers without the tongue 14. With the present washer having the tongue 14 it is found that the accumulation of plowed up material does not have to be nearly so great in order to stop the reverse movement of the washer as the plowed pieces lodge between the jaw 12 and the tongue 14- as before described. This makes the digging in process more posltive and it becomes effec-i tive 1n but afraction' of the space requlred nal slits merging with 1 outwardly directed and outwardly converging slits at the proxl-v mate ends of said longitudinal slits-thereby defining a-pair-of aws, and'a tongue located between theends of said aws and having its edges which are opposite-the ends ofthe'jaws converging outwardly toward the radius'of the washer which passes through the vcenter of the tongue, said jaws being 'ofieset: from opposite faces of said disk, whereby their ends lie a distance beyond said faces'for the purposes described-.-

2. A look washer col prising aidisk having and aflat tongue located between the ends of I said j aws', said jaws being off-set from'opposite'fac'es of said disk whereby their ends lie aidistance beyond said faces, the ends of said jaws lying closer together at the periphery of the disk than adjacentthe central annulus of the disk thereby defining cuttingcorners at theperipheral edges of the jaws for 1 the purpose described.

3; A lockwasher' for finite and" bolts comprising an annulus which is unbroken in the general circular direction in which; it extends, said annulus having a plurality of spring jaws integral "with it,*the' inner l0ng1- tudinal edges "of which j awslie at distances from the centerof thewasher approximately tha t of the minor diameterofthe nut or bolt headwith which the washer is tr be-used, and

less than the maximumidiameter ofthe'same,

said jaws being arranged in pairs with'their free ends facing one another one jaw being extended beyond one face of g the washer while the other jaw' is extendedbeyond the other face of the washer; therebyproviding et-reversible washer,-'one}j-aw of which 'will be pressed intothe adjacent part beings'ecure-d 1 while the other jaw will'engage with a flat face of the contiguous side wall of the nut or bolt head, and a flat tongue projecting from the annulus between the facing ends of said jaws said tongue being ofless width at its base. than the length of the tongue and the ends of said jaws lying close to the tongue and with theiredges substantially parallel to 7 general circular direction in which it ex I tends, ,said annulus having a plurality of spring jaws integral with it, the inner longi-' tudinal edges of which jaws lie at distances from the center of the washer approximately I that of the minor diameter of the nut or bolt head with which the Washer is to be used, and

- less than the maximum diameter of the same,

said j aws being arranged in pairs with their free ends facing one another, one jaw being extendedbeyond one face of the washer while the other jawvis extended'beyond the other l 'face of the washer, thereby providing a resaid jaws, said jaws having their opposing versible washer, onejaw of which will be pressed into the adjacent-part being secured 7 while the other jawwill engage with a flat I face ofthe contiguous side wall of the nut 01' bolt head,'and aflat tongue projecting y from the annulus between the facingends of V edges converging outwardly thereby defin- 7 'ing cutting corners at the outermost extremities of said jaws. a

' RICHARD LILLIG. 

